Report: Trolley Buses Best Zero-Emissions Option for San Francisco

“Combining battery technology with existing trolley bus infrastructure is the best way for San Francisco to achieve zero emissions and a robust transit service, according to a study released Wednesday by The Climate and Community Project.” Writing in Streetsblog San Francisco, Roger Rudick outlines the report’s findings.

The report recommends adding In Motion Charging (IMC) technology and expanding its entire trolley bus fleet as the fastest and most efficient option for reducing carbon emissions. “However, SFMTA is also looking at replacing historic trolley-bus lines with … battery buses, even though trolley-buses already use zero-emission technology, powered by overhead wire.”

Rudick notes that “This seems to echo the historical error made by San Francisco and other American cities after WWII when they removed electric rail and trolley bus systems and replaced them with diesel buses.”

San Francisco Electrical Construction Industry Research & Advocacy Director Alex Lantsberg says battery-powered buses will have to spend more time out of the system charging, meaning the city will need more of them to provide effective service. “In addition, buses have to expend more energy accelerating when they carry heavy battery packs. And battery-only buses will do more damage to roads because they are heavier.”

Ultimately, Rudick writes, “the idea is to leverage and expand, rather than remove, the existing overhead trolley wire network. That will allow the city to reach zero emission transit more quickly than buying thousands of untested battery-only buses, many of which would just replace buses that are already zero-emission vehicles.”